(LEAD) N. Korea fires several cruise missiles off east coast: JCS

▲ North Korea launches a missile on Feb. 2, 2024, in this file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency the next day. The country conducted what state media called a "cruise missile super-large warhead power test" and test-fired a new anti-aircraft missile. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) N Korea-missile launch

(LEAD) N. Korea fires several cruise missiles off east coast: JCS

(ATTN: UPDATES with latest details in paras 5-8)

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired several cruise missiles off the east coast Wednesday, the South Korean military said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missiles launched at around 9 a.m. into waters northeast of Wonsan on the east coast. It did not specify the number of missiles.

"While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military has been closely coordinating with the United States to monitor additional signs of North Korea's provocations," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

It marked the North's fifth cruise missile launch this year.

On Jan. 24, North Korea test-fired a new strategic cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, named Pulhwasal-3-31, for the first time.

The country fired submarine-launched cruise missiles off the east coast on Jan. 28 and conducted two more rounds of tests involving Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles from the west coast in the same week.

Cruise missiles, powered by jet engines, fly low and maneuver, making them harder to detect and intercept.

Hwasal means an "arrow" in Korean, and Pulhwasal means a "fire arrow."

Experts believe the North's unusually fast pace of cruise missile tests is aimed at enhancing the performances of the missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which could pose a serious threat to South Korea.

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